Apparatus for the briquetting of granular or powdery material



Sept. 28, 1954 o. HUBMANN 2,689,976

APPARATUS FOR THE BRIQUETTING 0F GRANULAR OR POWDERY MATERIAL Filed Jan. 17, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I3 s 110 /9 40/5 2 1fl 26, .4 I

h 17 L 27 2: i

W i i l'v'VENTOR OTTO HUBMANN BY @W 1 P lm ATTORNEY P 28, 1954 o. HUBMANN 2,689,976

THE BRIQUETTING OF GRANULAR APPARATUS FOR OR POWDERY MATERIAL Filed Jan. 17, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 28, 1954 APPARATUS FOR THE BRIQUETTIN G F GRANULAR OR POWDERY MATERIAL Otto Hubmann, Bad Homburg, Germany Application January 17, 1950, Serial No. 138,972

Claims priority, application Germany January 20, 1949 9 Claims.

The invention relates to an apparatus for the briquetting of granular or powdery material.

For briquetting of materials like coal-fines or powdery lignite normally stampers, so-called Exter-presses, of various design or roller presses with two rolls have been used. For the briquetting of very fine lignite a roller-ring press has been developed, by which briquettes of a very high density andv weather-resisting quality can be produced. However, this kind of a press is exceedingly expensive as its large rollering is made of high-grade steel, which can be manuiactured and repaired only on special lathes not available in briquetting factories. Such presses have, therefore, been employed only to a limited extent.

This invention relates to an apparatus without the great disadvantages of the roller-ring press but without giving-up the favourable effect of the roller-ring and disk principle. According to the invention it has been possible to replace the large rotating vertical ring of 12 feet diameter of the roller-ring press by a stationary horizontal ring of smaller diameter e. g. of only 4 feet diameter. Inside of this horizontal ring a vertical shaft rotates, which carries a horizontal disk and by means of an eccentric on the shaft this disk rolls along the inside of the ring forming a slot between the ring and the disk. In this slot granulated material is fed from above and the material is compressed to an endless string of briquettes, as this slot is continuously widened and narrowed by the'eccen'trically rotating disk. The briquettes, formed in the slot drop to the bottom of the apparatus after having been broken from the endless string by asuitable device.

The small stationary ring used in the invention does not require any bearings and in spite of its small dimensions the leading angle of the briquetting slot is even more favourable than that of the known roller-ring press, the inside-diameter of the ring and the outside diameter of the disk being nearly the same in the apparatus of the invention.

The ring is fastened to a cast steel frame. In this frame a vertical shaft rotates coaxially with the ring. This shaft carries on its upper end an eccentric crank shaft and on its lower end a spur gear by which it is rotated in the usual way. The horizontal disk is moved by the eccentric crank shaft in such a way that when the main shaft is rotated the disk rolls along the inside of the stationery ring due to the friction of the material fed into the slot. In order to hold the material in the slot the periphery of the ring is stepped upward and that of the disk downward,

A device based on this same principle has been proposed before, but in this case the difliculty of controlling the bending stresses on the shaft could be overcome only by using two disks rotating eccentrically in opposite directions, and the diameter of the stationary ring could not be reduced at all. In order to reduce the pressure load on the shaft and to eliminate bending stresses on the crank the vertical component of the operating pressure is according to the invention transmitted directly to a plain horizontal bearing mounted on the frame. In this way the power required for operating the press is also reduced considerably, because the relative movement of this bearing of the pressure disk is very small.

Toinsure a uniform supply of the material to the slot a hopper is arranged above the ring and the main shaft is extended into the hopper and one or several bars are fitted to this upper part of the shaft which thoroughly mix the material in the hopper and if suitably designed also serve to shove the material into the slot in uniform quantities. The mixing effect, which is essential in the case of briquetting coal with a binder can be increased if the inner wall of the hopper is also fitted with bars or arms.

When a dry material is briquetted the slot is preferably closed at the side by a tongue-like bar fixed to the main shaft and sliding on the disk during its rotation. In the rolling-ring system of briquetting the briquettes are formed in an endless string, which can be subdivided by teeth provided on the periphery of the disk and then broken into individual briquettes. For this purpose a knife or scraper is fixed on the bar or directly on the main shaft. The knife scrapes ofi the string from the ring and breaks it up into briquettes, which drop to the bottom of the frame. For briquetting a material, that softens or melts at higher temperatures, superheated steam or hot gases may be introduced into the hopper.

In order to avoid overloading of the shaft in case too much material is fed into the slot of the press the axial bearing of the disk is connected with the eccentric through intermediary springs or a hydraulic device in a manner known per se. If the latter is used the pressure can be controlled perfectly and a uniform quality of the briquettes is maintained even if the quantity of material introduced fluctuates considerably.

An apparatus according to the invention is shown diagrammatically and by way of example in the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the press.

Fig. 2 is a section along line I-I, and

Fig; 3 is a section along line IIII in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section showing the disc mounted on an eccentric containing a hydraulic device.

In the frame I made fsteel or cast-steel the vertical shaft 3 is mounted in bearings. The frame is closed on top by a ring 2. Below the ring 2 the disk l is mounted on the eccentric 2 I, surrounding part of the shaft 3 by means of the bearing ii. In vertical direction the disk 4 rests directly on the bottom of the frame I by means of the thrust bearing 5. The shaft is rotated by a spur gear 8 in the usual way. Between part 5 of the shaft and the eccentric 2| there are arranged on one side of part 5 several fiat or elliptic springs 9 so that the pressure disk-is-resiliently supported and can yield somewhat when excessive- 1y high pressures occur on the narrowest part 22 of the press channel. Above the disk I: a hood H3 is fastened to the crank by means of a key 2%. This hood carries an arm I l, Which extends into the hopper I2 placed. above the ring. The walls of the hopper l2 are also fitted with arms, or bars i3. Fixed to the hood I53 by means of arms Hi and rotatable therewith is the tongue l5, which during rotation closes or shields a part of the slot 2'6 between the ring and the disk to the outside in a horizontal direction. Attached to the tongue is a scraper it, which loosens thebriquettes from the ring and drops them into the annular space 25 which is formed by frame l and a cylindrical projection 23 provided on this frame. Within this space a shovel l1, fixed to the tongue l5,'moves the briquettes to the chute I8. Pipe i9 is connected to the hop-per l2 and serves for the introduction of hot gases into the material.

When the shaft 3 is rotated, the disk 4, due to the friction of the material filled into the slot 27 between the ring and the disk, rolls along the inside of the ring and'the slotsis opened and closed periodically during the eccentric rotation of the disk. Depending on the eccentricity of the crank and the-width of the slot a pressure up to 2500 atmospheres isexertedon the material. The material, preferably mixed before in the hopper by the movement of the. 'mixingarms II. and i3,

flows into the open section of the slot by gravity, which opens periodically on the'side opposite to the crank throw. The disk by its eccentric-rotation closes the slot 21 and slowly narrows it,

pressing the'inaterial to an endless string of briquettes. Behind the narrowestpartof the slot the pressure is released automatically. The string remains inside the ring'Z until removed. by the scraper It. The string of briquettes 30, which preferably is subdividedby the effect of ribs 28 provided on the disk,- is broken into individual briquettes by the scraper it according to the grooves produced by those ribs. The briquettes fall into the space 2i} and are transported to the discharging-chute 18 by the rotating shovel H.

A thorough miXingwof the material, which is important for briquetting with a binder, is procured by the arms- I1 and 13. These arms can also be used for a uniform feeding of the slot, preferably by inclining thearms toward the slot.

When coal is briquetted with a binder like pitch, superheated steam may be introduced into the hopper. Due to the high pressure, which can be exerted with an apparatus according to the invention, this apparatus can also be used for briquetting material that softens, like coking-coal, without any binder. Also mixtures of cokebreeze or anthracite and cokin -coal can be briquetted at the softening temperatures of the coking-coal. In this case hot. gases are introduced edge of the sloping wall section Mi of the hopper and the edge of the hood it into the slot 27. The slot 2 1 is, however, only open for the passage of the briquetting material on the side away from the compression zone. This can be clearly seen in F igpLwhere the slot 2? on the left-hand side is open for the passage of the briquetting material from the hopper I2 and closed on the right-hand side where the compression is being effected. In the open portion the material to be briquetted passes from the hopper l2 into the slot 2's between the disk d and the tongue it. As can clearly be seen from Fig. 3, the tongue i5 is spaced from the disk on one side and close to the disk on the opposite side. As the tongue rotates with the hood and shaft and the disk eccentrically rotates in the opposite direction, the material to be bri quetted may pass freely between the tongue and disk for compression between the disk and ring and the briquettes formed will be maintained separate from the material to be briquetted by the tongue on the opposite side of the disk.

As the scrap-er l6 and the shovel i? are connected to the tongue l5, which, in turn, is connected to the hood in! by means of the arm id, as can be clearly seen in Fig. 6, as the shaft and hood rotate, the tongue, scraper and shovel will rotate therewith. The scraper It will thus free and break the briquettes, as shown in Fig. 3, and the shovel I1 will scrape the same into the discharge 13 from the space 2! in which they fall.

Instead of the springs 9 being positioned between one side of the part 5 of the shaft and the eccentric 2|, a hydraulic cylinder and piston may be provided. Such an arrangement is shown in Fig. 4. The cylinder is defined in the part 5, and a piston 24 is fitted in this cylinder. The fluid may be passed under pressure through i? to press the piston 24 out of the cylinder 25 and thus resiliently urge the eccentric member radially outwardly in the eccentric direction.

With the -apparatus according to the invention it is possible to produce briquettes from materials, which could not be briquetted in the usual types of presses. Very fine powdered coals can be briquetted without any binder and smokeless briquettes of a high quality can be made, saving the cost of binder. Coking-coals and mixtures of such with coke or ores can be briquetted, which opens a new possibility for producing metals from such heat resisting briquettes. The apparatus of the invention requires less power due to the very efficient method of compressing the material. The closed cycle of the power exerted in the press makes a relatively small device possible, which permits; the application of a very high pressure. By the simple and closed design of the apparatus considerably less constructing material, is required for it than for the known types of presses, and it can be manufactured and repaired without costly special tools, which are necessary for the known stamping presses or the roller-ring system.

'What I- claim is:

1. Apparatus for briquetting finely divided material comprising a fixed horizontal ring, a vertical rotatable shaft coaxial with said ring, an.

eccentric member connected to said shaft, a horizontal disk positioned inside said ring and mounted for free rotation on said eccentric member, said ring and disc defining .a circumferential briquetting channel therebetween for the formation of briquettes therein, means for feeding material to said channel, and means for removing briquettes from said channel.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said horizontal ring is fixed in a frame and in which said horizontal disc is supported at the bottom of said frame by a horizontal thrustbearing.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 including a tongue connected for rotation with said shaft and positioned for partially closing said briquetting channel in a horizontal direction.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said means for removing briquettes from said briquetting channel include a scraper connected to I said tongue and positioned for removing briquettes from said briquetting channel.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said eccentric member is connected to said shaft by spring means, said spring means being positioned for resiliently urging said eccentric member radially outwardly.

6. Apparatus for briquetting finely divided material comprising a horizontal ring fixed in a frame, a vertical rotatable shaft coaxial with said ring, an eccentric member connected to said shaft, a horizontal disc positioned inside said ring and mounted for free rotation on said eccentric member, said horizontal disc being supported at 6 the bottom of the frame by a horizontal thrustbearing, said ring and said disc defining a circumferential briquetting channel therebetween for the formation of briquettes therein, a central hopper positioned above said ring, at least one bar gaseous medium into said central hopper.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said eccentric member is connected to said shaft by a hydraulic device positioned for resiliently urging said eccentric member radially outwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,931,759 Hasing Oct. 24, 1933 1,937,174 Taylor Nov. 28, 1933 2,412,299 Snow Dec. 10, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 5,394 Australia Dec. 15, 1931 of 1931 

